Memorial Day

Every day for the past six and a half months has been Memorial Day for us. We don’t need a special day. We don’t need the last Monday in May to remember Steve. We think about him every hour of every day, and when we go to bed, we pray that we’ll dream about him, too.

No. Memorial Day is for those who haven’t been handed a folded flag that had been draped over their firstborn’s casket. It’s not for the Families of the Fallen. It’s for the others. It’s for those who may not fully appreciate the sacrifices made by military members who have given their lives to our country.

It’s a day set aside to ask America to stop and recognize and honor. To think about Steve, Shane, Tanner, Andy, Cade, Hailey, Del, Daren, Greg, and countless others who raised their right hand to preserve and defend our constitution — and died on their journey to do so.

It’s a day set aside to ask America to appreciate the duty and selflessness behind every white headstone in every military cemetery. Steve summed up that selfless duty in a letter he wrote to his wife Allie prior to deploying to Afghanistan:  “I want you to realize something... as much as it is awful when I’m gone, someone has to do what I do. This country wouldn’t be free if people didn’t do what I do.”

Duty. Selfless service to our country. Steve — and his Fallen comrades — embodied these traits. Our Fallen are the best of us, and they are gone. It’s not right and it’s not fair that the good and the brave should be taken from us. But our world is far from ideal. And our military members pay the ultimate price for this reality.

So, please, on Memorial Day: Stop. Think. Recognize their goodness, their bravery, their sense of duty, their selflessness. Thank God for giving us these heroes. Appreciate their sacrifice and understand that Memorial Day for many is not just one day a year.